A New World
by SiriBauer
Summary: Two Jedis are send to Earth for what seems to be easy negotiations ...
1. Prologue

**This is my first try in writting a crossover. So any helpful reviews are more then welcome. In fact any kind of review is very welcomed :)**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Star Wars nor 24 ... I'm just playing with it :)**

**A New World**

**Prologue**

President Palmer was walking around his office at the White House unable to hide his anxiety.

"David", his brother and chief of staff Wayne Palmer addressed him " you have to relax. It doesn't look good when the most powerful man of this world seems to be nervous. Especially since I'm sure the people you're about to meet most certainly will notice."

David looked at his brother and then around his office as he would see it for the first time. He had been thinking about what he was going to say to the negotiators, that he wasn't aware he started pacing the room again.

Ashamed that he seemed so out of control of his own movements, he decided to sit down, even though it gave him the feeling of being boxed in; a feeling that was so extrremely unnatural for him. Usually he could be very intimidating just sitting in this chair, doing nothing but starring at the person in this office.

But now he felt like doing _something_,other then just sitting here and appearing to be strong.

"What's the ETA of our visitors?"

Wayne started to suppress a smile. He didn't know how often his brother had ask him this question during the last couple of hours.

"If they had no complications during their journey they should be here within the hour." He frowned. "That is, if traveling with a spaceship is no different than traveling with a plane."

David sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. This meeting was probably the most important one he'd ever have. Not just for the United States of America but for the entire planet.

He remembered the moment as clear as it was yesterday. It was a month after he had been elected for president. Everything went smoothly. Even the divorce with Sherry had been nothing to exiting for the press.

At least until one of his generals came to him, with something so unbelievable, that this moment would made it in the history books before it was over.

With those words the general had handed him a folder with a classified stamp on it. Right under the words _Area 51. _

David had looked at the man as he wanted to ask him, if this was some sort of bad joke. But the smile on the generals face was honest enough that this might be real.

He had opened the folder and after reading the first page. He had dropped it and looked surprised at the man in front of him.

"How sure are we that this no fake?"

"Very sure. We rechecked everything a couple of times. We even tried to get back in contact with them. Successfully. It all turned out to be very real."

"What did they say?"

"They were as surprised as we were. They didn't even know, that their were any life forms in this system. But they were eager to stay in contact with us. They even asked us to give them updates about our planet, so they can list us in their archives."

"They want us to be part of the republic?" David remembered how surprised he had sounded.

"Well. They want to be sure, that we are worth it, but I'm confident."

David had dismissed the man with a thank you and had called for his chief of staff, which at that point was still Mike Novick.

They had discussed the situation and David insisted on talking to every important leader on this planet. After all, this wasn't about one country, but about the whole planet. He couldn't possible the only one deciding about this.

Unfortunately during the negotiations with the leaders of earth, he got note of a possible nuclear strike against the US, which had put the negotiations on hold. Even gave them a setback after they nearly started WW III.

Needless to say he was even more surprised to find out, that they all agreed on one representative for the planet and that he was the one everyone agreed on.

Apparently the way he had handled the latest incident - as it was called - made them all accept him. Especially the Middle Eastern countries were still thankful that he tried to prevent a war. Instead of taking the easy way out, like vice president Prescott intended to do.

So here he was sitting now, waiting to speak to two representatives from the Republic about being admitted and at the same time trying to handle everything that comes with his rank as president of the United States.

He would have preferred to resign, but the feedback he got was everything else but supportive, so he stayed in office. At least until his four years were up.

He sighed. A happy sighed because he knew that those four years were almost over and he could concentrate only on the most important things at the moment. Which means talking to all kind of people on earth and the galactic senate.

The buzzing of his phone brought him back to reality. He answered it and was greeted with the voice of his brother, who had left his office awhile ago, without him noticing.

"David, I just wanted to let you know, that the representatives were just cleared by security and should be with you shortly."

David inhaled and exhaled deeply before he answered.

"Thanks, Wayne. Have them bring to my office. I'll be awaiting them."

"Yes, Mr. President. And good luck."

"Thank you, Wayne."

David closed the line, stood up and closed his eyes before taken another deep breath. Just before he heard a knock on the door, signaling him, his guest were about to enter.

_Ok, here we go._ He thought before a secret service agent opened the door on his signal.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: 24 and Star Wars still belong to their owners ... and that's not me.

**A New World**

**Chapter 1**

Obi-Wan Kenobi was happy when he was finally allowed to leave the spaceship he had been on for quite some time. It wasn't that he didn't enjoyed the time of peace; the last months had been anything else but boring. In fact he had lost count about how often, he and his master Qui-Gon Jinn had been shot at or being kidnapped.

So they were both relieved to find out that the council had sent them to a more relaxing mission where no complication were expected.

The problem was, that he had a dislike about flying, especially in space. And the constant dark didn't do to well to lighten up his mood.

So he was more than happy to see that the sun was shining when they were landing. The planet they were assigned to greet in the republic (no one doubted that) looked peaceful and friendly. In another word: Exactly the opposite you would think when someone sends you to a planet in the outer rim. Those planets were usually dirty, and the force felt dark on them. But this one was more like a planet from the mid rim.

Only when getting closer to the surface, could Obi-Wan recognize the difference.

The city they were approaching - when he remembered the name right, it was called Washington, D.C. - had almost no skyscrapers. At least none that came even close to what he had seen in his 6 years as Qui-Gon's padawan.

The streets also looked different. Not to mention the strange speeders they used. It seemed that they didn't use any kind of hovercraft design. Instead the vehicles were moving on wheels. Obi-Wan didn't even dare to think how rough a journey with those would be, when feeling every little uneven ground.

He felt his master approaching behind him and looking over his shoulder through the window on the planet they were about to land on.

"What do you feel, padawan?", the older Jedi asked.

Obi-Wan tried hard not to sigh. It always was the first question when landing on a new planet: What do you feel?

"Everything seemed peaceful. I don't sense anything we should be worried about."

Qui-Gon nodded in agreement.

"Me, too. But still, don't jump to any conclusion too early. Just because everything seems undisturbed now, doesn't mean it can't change in the future."

This time Obi-Wan couldn't suppress a sighed.

"I know. Last time I made the mistake of letting myself blind by a good first impression, I almost ended up, being sold as a slave."

The young man was referring to one of their latest mission. Which should had been fairly easy but turned out to be a disaster.

Qui-Gon smiled.

"Well, then at least the mission fulfilled one purpose. Even if it was just to teach you a lesson."

Obi-Wan was about to give a suitable response to his master teasing, when they were informed that they had landed and were now able to leave the ship.

The Jedi quickly gathered up the few belongings they would need for the meeting with representative David Palmer before entering the airport where they were supposed to meet an agent who would bring them to the residence where the negotiations would take place.

But much to their the surprise, this little task turned out more complicated than they thought.

Once inside the building they followed a crowed of other tourist to a big hall where several booths with agent were apparently checking everyone entering the city.

Qui-Gon noticed that it would take them awhile until they passed this.

Obi-Wan had noticed that as well and looked far from happy. If there was one thing his 19 year old padawan still had to learn it was patience.

But Qui-Gon was confident that he would learn it with time. After all he wasn't much different when he was his apprentice's age. He had a hard time accepting that fact, but Yoda had reminded him that this was just something every teenager had to deal with. Or better said every master had to deal with. It was just an impossible task to keep a young boy quiet for a long time. They simply had too much energy. So Qui-Gon was more than happy to find out that Obi-Wan finally passed that state of constantly having to move somehow. It also showed that he was growing up, something Qui-Gon was proud of, but at the same time wished he could stopping from happening. It meant his padawan had taken continuously a step to knighthood. Which also meant Qui-Gon would have to let his padawan - his son - go. He shook his head to banish that thought from his mind. After all, wasn't he the one telling Obi-Wan constantly to be mindful of the living force?

After nearly half an hour of waiting in line Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were finally called up to one of the agents, who gave them a quick look over before asking the two Jedis if they had any kind of ID with them.

Each of them handed them their ID and were relieved to know they could soon be on their way to discuss everything necessary with David Palmer.

But to their surprise the agent behind the counter - a male in his thirties, with red hair and green, bored eyes - looked more than a little bit annoyed when taking their passes, and immediately handed them back to the owners.

"Look, guys, I can see that you two are really into this Star Wars stuff. No wonder, since it recently turned out to be real. But standing here, pretending to be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn when you don't even came close to look like them, really takes on a whole new level of the word "freak". I need to see your real passports or drivers license from you two wannabe Jedis, otherwise you can't enter the United States. And don't give me any excuses. I've heard them all."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon exchanged surprised looks. Neither of them understood what exactly the man was talking about. What was wrong with their IDs?

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm afraid I didn't really understand what exactly the problem is. If you could explain to us why …"

"You didn't actually asked me this question, did you?", the agent interrupted Qui-Gon.

The confused faces of the two men told him, that they really didn't understand what the problem was.

_Oh boy! These guys are totally nuts if they really think, they are the two movie character. Let's hope this doesn't get out of control! _The agent thought before trying one last time to explain what exactly the problem was.

"Ok, one more time. The IDs you handed me are invalid. I need to see a drivers licenses - if you two are citizens of the United States. Which means we're born here. Or a passport if you're not a citizen of this country or you're coming from somewhere outside the United States of America. Got it?"

"Got it", this time it was Obi-Wan, who spoke. "And, no we are not citizens of the United States or any other country of this planet."

_Ok, that's it!_, the agent thought when calling one of the agents from homeland security, _I don't have time for these freaks. Let the feds or whoever is handling those two idiots and have their fun with them._

He was barely able to finish the thought when two colleagues from homeland security stepped up with another two standing by a couple of meters behind them, ready to help their co-workers if things got out of hand.

But luckily those the two wannabe Jedis were apparently only crazy not aggressive, because they followed the agents without hesitation.

And by the time those two left, he was already on the next passenger.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were lead into a small office, where they were ordered to sit down, and waiting.

Obi-Wan noticed the really clean environment. Not even a speck of dust could be seen on the monitor of the ancient device he thought might be the equal to their datapads or computers. He wasn't quite sure, what exactly the purpose was, but he definitely wanted to know the secret of getting it that clean. He could clean as often he wanted, but he never seemed to get rid of the fine layer of dust on all his electronically devices.

A mental nudge from his master brought him back to the present when another agent had enter the room. And by the way the others acted definitely the highest ranking one in the room.

The newcomer sat down before introducing himself.

"My name is Jonathan Bristol. I'm the agent in charge here. One of my men told me, you two refused to show your ID. Even after the importance of it had been explained to you."

Agent Bristol stopped and looked at the two Jedis sitting in front of him. But both men showed no signs of any kind of emotion.

Just when Bristol was about to start, the door flew open and a man in a black suit stormed in the room.

Without an introduction he yelled at Bristol: "What the hell do you think you doing here, Jonathan?"

"I could asked you the same question, Aaron. Since when does Secret Service care about anything going on at this airport?"

Bristol retorted not a bit intimidated by the other man.

"Since you are about to question important visitors." Aaron answered dryly.

"Important visitors to whom?"

Aaron simply answered by looking at the agent from homeland security, who suddenly turned deathly pale.

He opened his mouth to justify himself, but just an "Oh" escaped his mouth.

Aaron tried not to smile, when he indicated Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon they could leave. The surprise looked on Bristols' face made his day. They had met in the force and both had had the same dream: Joining the Secret Service. Back then they were friends, but when Aaron was accepted and Jonathan not, the latter one decided it was his friends fault and he still made sure to let Aaron know.

And Aaron couldn't help himself, but teased his former friend. It was just to much fun. Especially since Jonathan always tried himself to tease Aaron and as often failed.

After leaving the airport Aaron led the two Jedis to a waiting black car, nestled between another two of the same kind. And much to Obi-Wan's delight Qui-Gon stopped right in front of the vehicle without even showing a sign he was about to enter it in the near future. The young Jedi really hoped they never would. He still was sure a ride in one of those things must be like hell.

Concentrating back on the present, he noticed he had missed something his master had said to the red haired human man that had rescued him from Bristol's office.

He just hoped his negligence had slipped unnoticed.

"I'm sorry negotiator, but I wanted to leave the airport first and fill you in on our way to the White House", the red hair said, probably as an response to whatever his master had said earlier. Luckily, the answer helped the young apprentice to get an idea about why they hadn't entered the vehicle and he suddenly felt stupid. It slowly become a habit for him to miss things like this. He should have never trusted that foreigner just because he got them out of the airport. Especially since he and Qui-Gon had the habit of turning little things into a major crises. For all he knew they could have entered the black vehicle, be drugged in there and shipped of to work as slaves.

Obi-Wan shuddered. It wouldn't be the first time. And since all their experiences have one thing in common - none of it was something he would like to experience again - he could very well skip another one of those trips.

But it seemed that his master, for a reason only he knew - trusted the red hair, because he entered the vehicle.

Obi-Wan sighed.

_So much for avoiding a ride in one of those things! _The young man thought before following his master by entering the vehicle as well.

But much to the Padawans' delight, the ride in the car - as the people from this world called it - was less uncomfortable then he had imagined. That didn't change the fact, that Obi-Wan would always prefer a speeder. But he also to admit that he had traveled worst.

During the drive from the airport, the red haired man introduced himself as special agent Aaron Pierce. He belonged to an agency called Secret Services, which was specially designed to protect the president and other important senators of this country.

Agent Pierce had explained the most important things to the two Jedi's and had kindly offered to answer all question the two visitors might have had. Qui-Gon had kindly explained that all their question had been already answered and had thanked the agent, who was know playing the tour guide.

They had just past by a huge, beige building that Pierce had introduced as the FBI - some sort of police force as he had explained to the Jedi - when they came to an intersection with a closed road ahead.

Much to Obi-Wan's and his master's surprise that was exactly were their driver was heading.

The closed road turned out to be a security checkpoint. A sign that they were getting closer to their destination- the White House - that appeared on they left shortly after being cleared by security.

The three cars made a left turn were they passed through another gate that led to an underground parking lot.

Relieved to be allowed to leave the car the two Jedi followed Agent Pierce to a back entrance of the White House, where the Jedi had to go through another security check. It all went smoothly until the security agent asked the Master/Padawan team to hand him their weapons.

It took Qui-Gon some time to explain that Jedis would never surrender their light sabers. But finally - with some help from another agent that walked by - Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were allowed to keep them, but not without a warning that they would be closely watched.

Once out of sight Obi-Wan expressed his own feelings by rolling his eyes. These people seemed to be obsessed with security measures of all kind. He wouldn't be surprised that they would even search children just for the fun of it.

"I'm sure they have a good reason for their behavior, Padawan." said Qui-Gon the moment agent Pierce had left them standing in front of double doors with the instruction to wait here till someone called for them.

"Excuse me, master?"

"I was referring to your thoughts earlier about the security they have here, Padawan."

"Oh" the young man blushed. He wasn't aware that his master had been able to hear his thoughts through their shared bond. Ashamed he lowered his gaze to the floor, afraid to face his master after a mistake a 13 year old Padawan would have known to prevent.

"I'm sorry. I know these thoughts were not those of a senior Padawan."

"You are right, my very young apprentice" Qui-Gon agreed, "But what concerns me most: You're shielding is not as strong as it used to be. To be honest it was almost non-existing."

If it was even possible Obi-Wan cheeks reddened even more. Still with his gazed turned towards the ground he mumbled another apology. The Padawan was sure that, if he would look into his masters face, he would find disapproval.

But the truth was, that the tall Jedi-Master's face showed only worry. It wasn't like his Padawan to neglect something so trivial as his shielding.

_Especially his shielding_ Qui-Gon reminded himself.

Obi-Wan had been always extraordinary good when it came down to his mental shields. To be honest it was the one thing that Jinn always wished his Padawan hadn't been so good at. He had stopped counting how often the young man had used this ability to keep something from his mentor such as an injury.

At first the older man had not understood why his apprentice would do such thing; only after a long talk with master Yoda had his eyes been opened.

From the moment their paths had crossed, Qui-Gon had given Obi-Wan the feeling he wasn't good enough. It hadn't been his intention, but the still open wound from Xanato's betrayal had him made doing things that were unlike Qui-Gon.

But the mistake had been made and the only thing Qui-Gon could have done was to change his behavior. He couldn't change the past.

It hurt him to see that his Padawan was still dealing with his masters initial refusal to take him as his apprentice. His habit of not showing weakness was a result of that. The fact Obi-Wan had let his shields slip was therefore even more worrisome.

"Is something bothering you, Obi-Wan?" the Jedi master asked letting his worry for the young man show in his voice.

"No, master, everything's fine", came the quiet response.

"Are you sure?"

The Padawan thought about it briefly. He didn't want to tell his master what the reason for his mistake was. It wasn't something that he needed to bother his master with. He was sure he could handle it on his own. After all, someday he would be a knight and he couldn't come running to his master all the time. He needed to be able to deal with things like this.

So the young man decided to go with half of the truth, knowing it would satisfy his master.

"Yes. I just wasn't meditating as often as usual. I guess that's what caused this. I will make up for it as soon as I'll find the time." While saying this, he looked at the older man for the first time since the beginning of their conversation and giving the other one the chances to scan his face for any hint that might suggest he wasn't honest with himself.

Qui-Gon studied the face of his Padawan, but couldn't find anything that indicated another reason other than that Obi-Wan was deceitful about his lowered mental shields.

With a sighed he decided to start this conversation again at a later time, since he was sure that he wouldn't get anymore out of Obi-Wan then he already had.

He let his protégé know, that he accepted his answer for now by nodding.

Right in that moment the doors opened and a bald tall man told them that President Palmer would see them now.

The Jedi followed the man into the office, pushing the conversation to the back of their minds and concentrating to the negotiation ahead.


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry, to let you wait so long :(**

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.**

**Note: I'm a big fan of reviews, so please take the time to tell me what you think :)**

**A New World**

**Chapter 2**

Jack Bauer tried to hide his frustration. It had been almost eight damn months since this mission of hell had started. And now the blond CTU agent was about close to gaining the information this had been all about. But his boss, for the time being at least - Ramon Salazar, a sadistic Mexican drug lord - had other plans.

"Look", started the shorter Mexican man while putting an arm around Jack, causing shivers to run down the blond man's spine, "You're my best man, and I would want you at the meeting. Really. But you see, with this threat hanging over my head, it would be much wiser, for you stay here to make sure that son of a bitch will learn his lesson when he attacks."

Jack gritted his teeth. He had been arguing with Ramon for some time now to no avail. No matter what he said, Ramon wouldn't budge from his idea of taking Tomas with him, instead of Jack. Jack usually worked as the Salazar brothers' bodyguard as well as an adviser. That gave him the luxury of speaking up against the two brothers, but it didn't mean he was safe from their anger. One look at Ramon in a way he didn't appreciated, and you would be tortured to death. That was something Jack wanted to avoid at any cost. Especially since in his case it would be labeled as treason as well. The last person being accused of that, was still hanging in one of the barns, hoping that death would release him from this earth, that had been like hell itself for the last five hours in which Jack had asked him about his knowledge about the attack of one of Ramon enemies.

Apparently the man had sold information about the Salazar compound and his fields for harvesting heroin that surrounding it. The attack should kill Ramon and his brother Hector as well and all the other living souls and destroying the land owned by them.

With Ramon and Hector out of town the attack would only damage the house, fields and more important the workers living close by. Most of them weren't even aware of what their boss was doing. They simply tried to find a way to survive. Mexico was a poor country. Many people living here, didn't know how to get their family through the next month. Working for the Salazars was usually the only option, even though the conditions couldn't be any worse when the people had been slaves.

Jack shook his head. The worker couldn't be his concern. He had a job to do, which could, if he ended it successfully, save more lives than just those who were at stake, when the attack took place.

Turning around to look at Ramon, whose arm still lingered on the agent's shoulders, he sighed.

"Ok, Ramon. If you want me to stay, so be it. But it is against my advice."

The drug lord stopped and smiled at his bodyguard, a smile that made Jack's blood run cold.

"Jack, I know that you feel uncomfortable with this, but you're the only one I would trust with staying here and protect everything that is important to me. Besides Tomas is good at what he does; maybe not as good as you, but he's capable enough to ensure mine and my brothers safety. After all, the real thing is going down here. I doubt that the people I meet will kill their sponsors."

Jack nodded in response. It _did_ make sense. If he was honest with him, he would have made the same decision under normal circumstances. But the truth was, these weren't normal circumstances. It took him five months just to finally earn the brothers' trust and another one to just get usable evidence to proof of tip CTU received about the Salazars working with terrorists. All it would take him to arrest them and end this mission would be for to be him in room during the meeting, or at least the name of the man the brother's were meeting, but it seemed he wouldn't get neither.

The closing of a door could be heard and everyone in the yard turned around to see Hector leaving the building. The dark haired man went straight up to his older brother.

"Everything's ready. We're good to go Ramon."

The other one nodded in understanding and motioned his brother to enter the waiting car. Hector did as he was told, but not before he glared at the American. Jack knew the hate the other man was feeling for him was born out of jealousy. Everyone on the compound new that Ramon trusted him more than most people. The tattoo on his left arm was proof of that. It was the sign of the Salazar's, an honor only reserved for family members. Hector was afraid that Ramon would pass their empire on to Jack instead of him. And to be honest, Jack knew that was a possibility, since Hector wasn't any different when it came to his sadistic games than his brother - he might be even worst - but he was lacking the intellect that was needed to run something like this drug cartel.

Jack watched as Ramon followed his brother a second later, disappearing in the black SUV, that almost instantly started to drive down the dirty road leading away from the compound. The agent watched the vehicle until it vanished on the horizon. Only now did Jack allowed himself to relax and close his eyes for a minute, before heading back into the house. He had to counter an attack.

Once inside he took a second to let the air-conditioning cool him down, before heading to his own room. Working for the Salazars as an advisor definitely had its upsides, even if it was just the luxury of his own room instead of having to share a modified barn with five other guys.

On his way he met Claudia, daughter of one of the farmers in charge and girlfriend to Hector Salazar. The young, brunette woman had a fire in her eyes that would warn other men to stay away from her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Hector, who managed to convince Ramon to let her father work here on a good salary, away from all the illegal business and pay for her younger brother's education.

Jack wasn't in the mood to talk to her, so he decided to give her only a single nod of his head while hurrying past her. But it seemed the woman had other plans because she called out to him.

Jack turned around to allow her to catch up with him. As soon as she did, he started to walk again. Not wanting to waste time. He had enough things to prepare and arrange before the attack. He couldn't worry about Claudia right now. And he knew he would if she started talking about Hector. Something he was sure she would do.

"Do you mind to slow down a little, Jack?" Claudia asked. When she didn't get any response she decided to carry on anyway. No matter how bad Jack's mood was today, she was going to tell him anyway.

"Ramon said he had problems with the workers on one of the fields on the west. He asked you to take care of it."

A grunted "Fine", or at least she guessed it meant fine, was all she got_. Well, at least he listened, while he seems to run away from me_, Claudia thought dryly.

"He also made it clear he wanted it to be done before he returned from the meeting with Etz'kal."

Jack stopped so suddenly, that Claudia almost bumped into him.

"What?" Jack had turned around and was no starring at her, with an expression on his face she couldn't read. Not that it was something she hadn't expected. The blond man was probably the hardest person to read on earth.

Not sure what Jack had referred to, she decided to repeat and rephrase the last sentence

"You should take care of that problem that occurred on one of the fields in the west, before Ramon returns from that meeting with Etz'kal."

"Yes, thank you, Claudia, I will see to it." Jack answered before running up the stairs leaving a puzzled Claudia behind.

Jack arrived at his room shortly after, opening the door and getting his scrambled phone from its hiding place behind his bed. When he dialed he noticed that his hands were shaking. Jack cursed. He knew his trembling wasn't because of his excitement over the possibility this mission might be over soon, thanks to Claudia.

Deciding he could wait a little longer before making the phone call, he put the phone back where it belonged and instead he went over to the small cupboard on the opposite wall. There, lying on top of it, rested a little metal case. His nutrition that kept him going through all the horrors Ramon and his brother had put him through.

Jack went back to sit on the bed because of the lack of a chair and opened the case that revealed a syringe. Taking a deep breath he started to prepare his stash.

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi watched and listened as his master and representative Palmer were discussing the trading conditions. They had been at it for hours; still you could call these negotiations fast. Usually it took the parties about a week to come to a conclusion. This time they had roughly the same idea about this relationship and the responsibilities the republic and Earth both had. It was almost as if the Palmer new somehow what was expected of him and what he could ask in return. The apprentice was pretty sure it was more than the diplomatic skill the representative showed. He wondered if it had anything to do with what the security man said, when they tried to enter this planet. What was it again? Something about Star Wars coming true. Obi-Wan made a mental note to check what that meant and if it really had something to do with the knowledge Palmer seemed to have.

Suddenly a door opened and Wayne Palmer came rushing in.

"I apologize for interrupting, but we just got a call from CTU Los Angeles. Apparently Jack Bauer has the information we were hoping to get about Ramon Salazar's terrorist activities."

David Palmers first response was to tell his brother he would get back to them. But then he realized that CTU usually never called if it wasn't important. Especially since they probably knew he was meeting with the Jedi.

"Thank you, Wayne. I will take the call in here."

"In here?" Wayne asked in disbelieve. It wasn't common to have a phone call of that importance in front of visitors.

Following his brother's gaze that now lingered on the master and his apprentice, David understood Wayne's hesitation.

"Yes, in here. We have nothing to hide. Please direct the call to my phone."

The stern voice made Wayne flinch before he nodded.

"Yes, Mr. President."

With that the younger of the Palmer's headed for the door to redirect the call. It wasn't long before the phone on the desk rang and a female voice announced that Mr. Almeida was waiting on line two.

Palmer pressed a button and the screen to the Jedi's right flickered on, showing a middle aged man with curly black hair and tired smile on his face.

"President Palmer", he greeted.

"Mr. Almeida. My brother informed me, that Jack Bauer has new information on the Salazar mission."

"Yes, Mr. President. Apparently the brother went to a meeting of great importance. Unfortunately the information we gained were vague. But it seems as they want to buy something from a man called", Tony stopped a moment to look down on some notes he made before continuing, "Etz'kal."

A pause followed. The agent was waiting for a response from the president. David brows furrowed in concentrations.

"Etz'kal? I'm not familiar with that kind of name. Do we know where he comes from?"

Almeida shook his head.

"No. We ran his name through our database, but nothing came up. It's not a very common name in any country. To be honest, Mr. President, we're not even sure if Etz'kal is a first or last name. For all we know he could be a woman as well."

Palmer nodded in understanding.

"What does Jack say?"

The other man started to fidget, before clearing his throat.

"He thinks there might be a possibility the person might not be from Earth."

Palmer raised an eyebrow. This answer definitely wasn't what he had expected.

"Do you think that is likely?"

"With all due respect, Mr. President, I know that you trust Jack Bauer more than any other person on earth and you value his thoughts, but this seems to be more then unlikely to me. We monitor everything on this planet and around orbit. I don't think someone from outer space might be able to land on our planet without us noticing."

Palmer nodded again before turning around to face his two guests.

"What do you think, Master Jinn?"

If Qui-Gon was surprised by the sudden decision of the representative, to involve him, he didn't show it. Instead he rose from the chair he had been sitting in and stood in front of the monitor, to give Tony Almeida the chances to see the person Palmer had addressed.

Obi-Wan noticed the shocked expression on the black haired man, when he realized that Palmer hadn't been alone. But he recovered quickly and responded to the greeting the Jedi-Master had given him.

"Mr. Almeida", Qui-Gon started, " when we landed on this planet, we noticed that you did have some security measures around your planet. It is enough to detect every ship that comes into your orbit. I agree on that. Nevertheless, there are ways to stay undetected. I'm sure you are familiar with this kind of tactic."

"Yes. Stealth technique is common in technical advanced countries", Tony agreed.

"So you would agree that it would be possible that Etz'kal have used that kind of technique to land on your planet unnoticed?"

Now the agent seemed to be embarrassed and annoyed that some outsider told him his mistakes and pointed out what judgment errors had been made.

"It could be a possibility, but an unlikely one."

"Nevertheless this Etz'kal seemed to have found a way on our planet and you should concentrate rather on how to deal with him now that he is here then how you could have prevented it." President Palmer stepped forward, blocking Almeida's view to the Jedi. "We will have to look into that at a later point."

"Yes, Mr. President." Tony knew when he was scolded and bowed his head lightly to indicate his understanding of the situation and the acceptance of the decision made by his surperior.

Palmer let his last statement hang in the air before turning around to the Jedi-Master and with that allowing Almeida to see the long haired man.

"Master Jedi" he addressed Qui-Gon" do you know this man, Etz'kel?"

"No" he shook his head. "Not personally."

"But you know what he is capable of." It wasn't a question. David Palmer expression had changed from deep in thought to certainty with arms folded in front of him. The representative looked very much like the Jedi master he was facing. Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile. It looked like every tall and calm man in this universe took the posture, whenever he wanted others to comply.

"Yes, I know what Etz'kel is capable of. I was sent to a planet once, where help was required to recover after Etz'kel had used it for testing a new virus he had developed."

"He had developed?" Tony asked somewhat bewildered. The thought this man was on Earth, near his country sent a shiver down his spine. From the looks on President Palmers face, he was shocked as well.

"And it is likely this man will … test", Palmer stumbled over the last word, "a virus on my planet." Just the thought that the people on Earth were seen as lab rats in another man's eyes was sickening.

"You don't know that for sure."

"But it is a possibility, is it not, Master Jinn?" The representative's voice was stern. He didn't like it, when someone told him that the worst case scenario might not happened. He preferred to know exactly what could be a possible scenario however bad it might be. It was always better to work as the worst thing was about to occur, no matter how slim the chance really was.

"Yes, it is a possibility, Representative Palmer." Jinn said in answer to the question.

"In that case, I would ask for your help, Master Jinn. I know you didn't come here to arrest someone or help to prevent a mad man from attacking our planet, but I'm the elected President of these people who might be killed in a terrorist attack. My job is it to keep the people of this country save and considering what we are against, we could use any help we can get. Would you be willing to help us?"

Qui-Gon had anticipated the question and had already run through the options they had.

As Palmer had said, they were called for negotiations that would decide about the fate of this planet and its place in the galactic republic. As far as Qui-Gonwas concerned, there was no doubt the senate would approve Earth. There never had been any doubt in this matter. In fact there were already far ahead in the negotiations.

The only problem was that there was no official question sanction to help. Sure, the representative had just asked him, but request for help usually went first through the senate who decided if the assistance by the Jedi were necessary. In only very rare cases went the question for help straight to the Jedi council.

Qui-Gon couldn't be sure, but the chances both the senate and council would agree to help were high. Etz'kel was wanted on more planets then Qui-Gon could think of. So better start looking for him, while they were already here instead of waiting for another team.

The only worry left was his Padawan.

The last half year was trying and he could see that Obi-Wan needed and deserved a little rest. That had been the reason why he accepted this mission in the first place.

He glanced at his Padawan who nodded almost imperceptibly. The young man understood the situation and knew what his master was asking.

Having come to a decision Qui-Gon said:"We will help you, but we need your full cooperation."

Palmer was visibly relieved. He smiled at Qui-Gon warmly.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll arrange a plane that will take you to CTU Los Angeles. You will be able to help from there more efficient then doing it from an office on the other side of the country.

Mr. Almeida" the dark man turned around to face the still waiting agent on the screen, " I expect you work with Master Jinn and his apprentice together. Nothing regarding this man is to be kept from them. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Good. That'll be all, Mr. Almeida."

Tony Almeida nodded once more in acceptance before Palmer closed their connection and turning to the Jedi with a warm smile.

"I guess that's all then, for now. I'm sorry that this meeting turned out different than expected."

"Don't worry, representative, this is not the first time it's happened." Obi-Wan spoke for the first time since entering the room. He had abandoned the sofa he had remained seated on until this moment and was now standing beside his master.

"Well, I shall leave you to your specialty." David chuckled.

After saying they formal goodbyes, the Jedi were once more escorted by Agent Pierce. He led them through the White House, but instead going back to the underground garage they went into one of the yards, where a small vehicle with rotating blades was waiting for them.

"This helicopter will take you to Dulles airport, where a plane is waiting for you to take you to Los Angeles. If you will excuse me, I have something to attend to."

"Sure, thank you Agent Pierce." Qui-Gon dismissed their guide and gave their new transport a quick once over.

"Great." His apprentice next to him sighed.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I really hoped this would turn out to be a more relaxing mission."

Hearing the honest apology from his master, the young man took his eyes from the helicopter and directed his gaze at his master, who was facing him as well.

"I wasn't talking about the mission, master." The young Jedi said with a glimmer in his eyes Qui-Gon knew too well.

"I'm already used to the fact, that having you as a master, means there's no such thing as simple or relaxing missions. There are just expected hard missions and unexpected once. This one belongs to the latter."

Obi-Wan's smile suddenly widened when he started his next sentence.

"I was merely referring to that transport of ours. You have the ability to not just attract pathetic life-forms you are also a magnet for old and bumpy rides."

"No, Obi-Wan. I just have the ability to pick up _pathetic life forms_, as you put it. The ability to get old and bumpy rides is reserved only for you, my young apprentice."

The older Jedi smiled and put a hand on his protégés shoulder, pushing him lightly in the direction of the helicopter. A sign he wanted to let Obi-Wan enter first. Rolling his eyes he complied, a gesture that made the Jedi master chuckle and put a smile on Obi-Wan's face.


End file.
